Green careers increasingly varied - and rewarding

Green careers increasingly varied - and rewarding

Michael Kerford, Vice President of ECO Canada, is photographed at the ECO Canada offices in SE Calgary on April 12th, 2012.Photo by
Adrian Shellard

Standing in the middle of a wetland in the Fraser Valley area of B.C., Natashia Cox is working on a baseline study of a rare type of frog - one known as a key indicator of the area's environmental health - for the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition.

Cox says she has always loved the outdoors and when she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in biogeography in 2008, she immediately started working as a contractor for a variety of groups. She earned her environmental professional accreditation through ECO Canada and has continued in this line ever since.

"Networking is critical," says Cox of landing her current role. "It just leapfrogged from there."

Cox is one of a rapidly increasing number of environmental professionals who come from highly diverse, interdisciplinary backgrounds. These include engineering and any of the natural sciences (mostly biology, chemistry, agrology and even geography). There are also many technicians and technologists entering the field.

Over the past decade, environmental employment has grown three-fold, from 221,000 in 1999 to 682,000 in 2010, according to Michael Kerford, vice president of ECO Canada, the federally funded environmental sector council responsible for overseeing the development and certification of environmental professionals (EPs) across Canada.

"The diversity of educational backgrounds and employment requirements have evolved tremendously," says Kerford. "It's the definition of a cross-sectoral workforce."

Environmental science programs are unique in that they are highly interdisciplinary degrees, drawing on a wide range of scientific backgrounds and areas of expertise, he adds.

There is a "credential creep" that sees many undergraduates go on to take further graduate studies once they have gained experience. Most end up specializing in one area, although there are still generalists who tend to work in more broadly based project management roles.

"Based on a combination of areas of interest, opportunities and strengths, it usually takes them in a certain direction," Kerford says. "Through that specialization, they will often want to complement that with an additional post-secondary program."

Tamara Nelson, manager of human resources and recruitment for Summit Liability Solutions Inc. in Calgary, says although there is an average turnover of 21.7 per cent for environmental professionals across Canada, her company has managed to keep it to 2.45 per cent.

Working with ECO Canada, her company has encouraged its staff to seek the EP designation to make them more valuable in the labour market. She also recently set up a summer internship program and has been fielding many calls this year.

"We've had some aggressive students this past year and I appreciate that," she says, adding students should apply in February for these two- to four-month positions.

Summit provides environmental assessment services, doing land reclamation and remediation work, as well as drilling waste management services by testing the mud used in the oil well drilling process to ensure it's safe for the environment.

She typically hires people with chemistry, agrology and biology graduates and then trains them to do the required work, creating career pathways for people to specialize in different types of work.

Environmental studies graduates from the humanities are also employed in various aspects of the environmental sector. They typically do policy-related work for governments and regulators, says Kerford.

"We are certainly at the stage of rapid growth," he says. "We are seeing some unique characteristics drive some of these non-traditional sectors."

While it used to be mainly regulatory changes driving growth, consumers are now pushing much of the change in mentality at the corporate level.

"There's now a business case for investing in the environment," Kerford says.

He is now seeing the rise of "chief sustainability officers," or CSOs, being hired to sit at the executive table in a wide range of industries as companies move to recognize the growing importance of the role the environment plays in their operations.

Companies such as Walmart, for example, have undertaken efforts to improve the efficiency of their stores and focused on the environmental side of being a retailer.

"We're now seeing sustainability and environment take on that role with the emergence of this position where there are people at senior executive levels influencing corporate strategy," Kerford says. "It's a new ladder people can aspire to."

Cox, meanwhile, continues to work as a contractor and sub-contractor for a range of non-profit organizations throughout the Fraser Valley. Her advice to students entering the field is to network as much as possible and to explore different areas within their field to find their dream jobs.

"You have to work hard, put a lot of effort in and give everything you've got to keep pushing forward."

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